Let Me Be A Child, Again

A few days ago, Kelly, from Kelly's Korner, wrote a blog post about how she is always telling her girls to "hurry up."  Her post made me stop and think about how often I say those same words to my sweet 2 year old.

Then I saw an article in the Huffington Post titled The Day I Stopped Saying "Hurry Up."  The article is written by a mother who was over-taken by guilt one day when she realized how often she orders her children to "hurry up" and try to do things on her schedule. 

All I could do after reading this article is think about the past 2 mornings.  Brant has been very sick and in bed, so I have had to get Emmalee to her sitter every morning, which then makes me late for work.  I think I've told my child to "hurry up" more in the past 2 mornings than I have in the past 2 months.  I would be trying to walk out the door and Em would be putting Baby Girl (her favorite baby doll) in Madeline's swing and kissing her goodbye.  So out the door we try to go again, but Baby Girl needs her blanket in the swing so she doesn't get cold, and don't forget to tell Dax bye, and maybe we should give Daddy another kiss on the head so he can feel better...the list of things this child wanted to do before we left the house was exhausting, but then she had to go potty....and since we are in the middle of potty training, I immediately drop everything and rush her to the potty. 

15 minutes after I tried to leave the house, we were finally in the car pulling away.  My thought..."Praise the Lord we are finally in the car, but I am going to be sooo late."



Do you ever think back on times in your life and wish you could do them all over again?  Well I wish I could take back these past 2 morning and do them all over again.  I wish I helped my sweet child "mother" her Baby Girl, I wish I had encouraged her to kiss her daddy again so he could maybe feel a little bit better, I wish I had encouraged her to love on her puppy Dax....I wish, I wish, I wish.  I wish I had slowed down to see the beauty of life in those precious moments.

Children seem to "get it."  They understand that to learn and grow, they should take every moment of every day to see new things, to inquire, to enjoy the small moments of life.

This morning I can't help but think about Matthew 18. This is the parable where Jesus teaches His disciples that the greatest in Heaven are those with a child-like faith.  And unless we become like those children, we will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Today this passage has new meaning for me.  Yes, I want a child-like faith - one that does not have to see to believe.  But I also want to become a child so that maybe I can slow down again.  I want to slow down and see everything the Lord has for me.  I want to see His truth, see His plan, see His power!  I want to enjoy the family He has given me and life He has provided for me.  I want to slow down and know Him more. 

So today, I encourage you to see the world through the eyes of a child.  Take those extra moments and hold your babies longer.  Take the time to care for those around you. Take a moment to play in the rain.  Slow down.  Don't ever hurry up.  Oh, how life would be different if we were like children, again.